Invertor Over Voltage Protection

Olly

Bronze
Mar 12, 2007
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We have been experiencing overvoltage coming from Edenorte - anything up to 270 volts on the two phases. ie 135 Volts AC on each side of a Double Monofacia supply. It may have gone higher and only lasts for a few minutes so it is difficult to measure but it may be enough to blow appliances , light bulbs etc.

Do all invertors have overvolt protection whereby they switch over to batteries if the voltage goes too high from the street supply? If not which ones have it ? Trace/Xantrax? etc

Olly and the Team
 

NV_

Bronze
Aug 4, 2003
710
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Just checked the manual on my TRace DR3624 inverter and it doesnt mention any overvolt protection. Mind you, this is an old Trace (around 15 yrs old) so the new ones might have that feature.

Sorry I couldnt help more.

O and 270V?? Holy crap? Has anything electronic survived??? Make sure to talk to protecom after this to make sure they reimburse you for damaged electronics. Take pictures of volt meters and such. Video of the repair men fixing it, etc.
 

Olly

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Mar 12, 2007
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NV_ ,
Thanks for the advice. Not sure which invertors have overvoltage protection !

Olly and the Team
 

Ringo

On Vacation!
Mar 6, 2003
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My older Xantrex SW has programable hi-low volts setting that cut off street power and switch to battery until street power comes back into the programed limits. The SW series is great and has been replaced by a new generation of SW units. There is a place in Santiago that still has/had the older units. But this is only for the 120 V that go to/thru the inverter and not the whole house.

I also have two small devices for the generator auto-disconnect. One for high and the other for low that cuts off ALL street power using the auto switch. The generator start is separate in our case since our SW inverter controls the generator. This might be cheaper to install and protect everything. Your inverter would see "no power" and do it's thing.

I think you are in my area so if you want to see my set-up, feel free to say so.
 

Ringo

On Vacation!
Mar 6, 2003
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I talked to my electrician about this. He said he could install a security in my home for such powerproblems.
He said it could be programmed to turn off the power to your home if it were to high or to low.

You too can come by and see what I have. Older system; simple and it works. I have NO idea about the costs back then or now. But might be a good alternative rather then replacing good inverters. ??

I do have a fairly good electrician that will have out in the next week or so. I'll have him work up a materials list and installation costs if you wish. Please advise.
 

Ashley Bishop

New member
Apr 4, 2012
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Olly...I have a Trace DR3624 with 4 batteries...Since my time here in the DR (POP-PUJ-SDQ-Cabrera_Abreu etc etc) the only company I have been happy with is Trace..I have used all the "creole" type inverters and they either, exploded, melted or just didnt work with the requirements I had...BUT...I can say, since 2006, Trace inverters have an overload protection..they also have a lo volt protection too...If you have any Trace inverter of 3 kilos and over...the display will show "lo" or "hi" depending on the voltage when there is a surge or other and that will protect any equipment you have connected to it...The Trace DR series are FAB inverters and well worth the investment...Sorry I cant be of any more help without actually knowing what you guys have, but keep with Trace dude, and you cant go wrong..PS-stay away from Dominican so-called "voltage regulators"...they will do more harm than good!
 

lisagauss

Bronze
Feb 16, 2011
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We have been experiencing overvoltage coming from Edenorte - anything up to 270 volts on the two phases. ie 135 Volts AC on each side of a Double Monofacia supply. It may have gone higher and only lasts for a few minutes so it is difficult to measure but it may be enough to blow appliances , light bulbs etc.

Do all invertors have overvolt protection whereby they switch over to batteries if the voltage goes too high from the street supply? If not which ones have it ? Trace/Xantrax? etc

Olly and the Team

Olly, I have a Wave Platinum that I purchase in Santiago from Megatone. It has over voltage protection. But, if you the inverter you have doesn't have this "protection" you can also buy it separate. Check out this ...

Megatone - Wave Lite PP2500N1ES
 

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
21,843
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yahoomail.com
3.6 Trace unit, this will be year # 16!
Sure makes the fans "BUZZ" however!
But I won't "Fix" it cause it "Ain't Broke"!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

Olly

Bronze
Mar 12, 2007
1,914
104
63
Hi Thanks for the info - it seems some have it programmeable Trace SW, Wave lit and some have it at a fixed setting DR Series , and some dont seem to have it.
I was really waiting for Windeyguy or JD to reply as it is a problem here in the DR.

Olly and the Team
 

tcast305

Member
Jul 17, 2009
70
0
6
Olly,

About 2 months ago, I noticed my inverter switching over to battery at around 2-3am every night and would stay until morning around 7-8am. I have a Technomaster (same as powertek) inverter model TM-1500, its a 12V 1.5KW modified sine wave. This inverter works just like an ups, even gives you the same audible beeps for a few secs when inverter kicks in (power loss/low battery/overvoltage).

At the time I didn't understand why my inverter was kicking in almost at the same time at night, without power loss. After a couple of days I borrowed a voltage meter, and measured the voltage on both phases, and during the day it was at 131.5 volts and it would creep up at night to 135.0-135.9, and both phases together was 270 volts! I was shocked, and now knew why my inverter was doing what is was, it has a fixed overvolt protection set at 135volts, so it switches over to inverter mode to protect anything plugged after it, and will not switch over until the voltage is dropped below 135volts.

I live in an apt complex so I measured the voltage in the common area, just to make sure there is nothing going on with my circuit, and it was the same voltage as well.

I called Edeeste and reported the problem around 2am, and they came out around 8am that morning. They measured the voltage at the main panel for the building at was same results as mine single phase 132+ and 265+ both phases. They fixed the problem by adjusting the transformer we have for the building, and now its 120 and 240.

I'm still amazed that my A/C, fridge, or microwave didn't burn out due to the over voltage since they are not protected by the inverter.

Thanks.



We have been experiencing overvoltage coming from Edenorte - anything up to 270 volts on the two phases. ie 135 Volts AC on each side of a Double Monofacia supply. It may have gone higher and only lasts for a few minutes so it is difficult to measure but it may be enough to blow appliances , light bulbs etc.

Do all invertors have overvolt protection whereby they switch over to batteries if the voltage goes too high from the street supply? If not which ones have it ? Trace/Xantrax? etc

Olly and the Team
 

Olly

Bronze
Mar 12, 2007
1,914
104
63
windeyguy,
Your'e the expert on these things - can you shed some light on which invertors have over voltage protection - ie they switch to battery power and disconnect the over voltage supply!

Olly

PS you might of missed this with DR1 being down !
 

Ringo

On Vacation!
Mar 6, 2003
2,823
41
0
windeyguy,
Your'e the expert on these things - can you shed some light on which invertors have over voltage protection - ie they switch to battery power and disconnect the over voltage supply!

Olly

PS you might of missed this with DR1 being down !

Well that's not very nice to the rest of us that contributed and offered our experience, what we have done and found that works.

I take back my invite.

Very Rude.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
I just re-read the Trace DR Series data sheet. I did not recall seeing anything in that data sheet about over voltage protection. It does have under voltage protection, but as I recalled, no mention at all of over voltage protection.

At my location, over voltage has not been an issue. There was a period of time where we had low voltage, but thankfully that is no longer a problem.

It certainly is likely that the newer series of Xantrex inverters have over voltage protection, and I saw that the Platinum series from Megatone have over voltage protection, but I would personally call Xantrex or Megatone to verify how it functions since they could take a number of different approaches.
 

Luperon

Who empowered China's crime against humanity?
Jun 28, 2004
4,510
294
83
Think about how much this costs the consumer, more metered usage, more wear and tear on batteries. How many fires and burnt out appliances. A big reason why electrical things dont last in the DR.

Olly,

About 2 months ago, I noticed my inverter switching over to battery at around 2-3am every night and would stay until morning around 7-8am. I have a Technomaster (same as powertek) inverter model TM-1500, its a 12V 1.5KW modified sine wave. This inverter works just like an ups, even gives you the same audible beeps for a few secs when inverter kicks in (power loss/low battery/overvoltage).

At the time I didn't understand why my inverter was kicking in almost at the same time at night, without power loss. After a couple of days I borrowed a voltage meter, and measured the voltage on both phases, and during the day it was at 131.5 volts and it would creep up at night to 135.0-135.9, and both phases together was 270 volts! I was shocked, and now knew why my inverter was doing what is was, it has a fixed overvolt protection set at 135volts, so it switches over to inverter mode to protect anything plugged after it, and will not switch over until the voltage is dropped below 135volts.

I live in an apt complex so I measured the voltage in the common area, just to make sure there is nothing going on with my circuit, and it was the same voltage as well.

I called Edeeste and reported the problem around 2am, and they came out around 8am that morning. They measured the voltage at the main panel for the building at was same results as mine single phase 132+ and 265+ both phases. They fixed the problem by adjusting the transformer we have for the building, and now its 120 and 240.

I'm still amazed that my A/C, fridge, or microwave didn't burn out due to the over voltage since they are not protected by the inverter.

Thanks.